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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs put on an offensive clinic in the second half of Super Bowl 57, gashing the Philadelphia Eagles' vaunted defense for three straight touchdowns and a game-winning field goal just before time expired.
Expert play-calling and scheme design from coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy left the Eagles frantically searching for answers defensively, ones they never came close to finding en route to a 38-35 loss made all the more heartbreaking because Philadelphia led by two scores at intermission. Dominant as the Chiefs were after Rihanna took the field at State Farm Stadium, their most innovative and truly unique play was pretty much doomed from the jump.
Remember Kansas City's failed fourth-quarter passing attempt before Mahomes found Kadarius Toney for the first of walk-in touchdown throws that exploited Philadelphia's means of dealing with pre-snap motion in the secondary? Mahomes addressed that snap on Monday's edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, shedding light on a largely forgotten play the Eagles easily thwarted.
“We worked on that play for so long,” he said. “We tried to disguise it with all that different stuff happening before the snap, then I saw 22 point directly at the guy I was gonna throw it to. I was like, ‘I don't know if I like my O-lineman matched up on a DB.' Man, the worst!”
Amazing: The #Chiefs used “Pikachu Formation" – "Gotta Catch ‘Em All" trick play in the Super Bowl 🤣@PatrickMahomes shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.https://t.co/cOMib0iauX pic.twitter.com/OFWMe6Tc80
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 14, 2023
Mahomes' primary receiving target on the play? Right tackle Andrew Wylie, made eligible because the Chiefs—after spinning around backup guard Nick Allegretti in the huddle—put an extra offensive lineman on the other side of the formation.
Philadelphia defensive back Marcus Epps identified the trickery before Mahomes got the ball, though, wasting a play inspired by Pokemon.
“Wylie, who was the guy we were trying to get the ball to, is a big Pokemon collector,” Mahomes said. “So, it was a Pikachu formation, and it was called ‘Gotta catch 'em all.'”
Kansas City caught pretty much everything else in the second half of the Super Bowl, at least, Mahomes and company taking home their second Vince Lombardi Trophy in four years.
